We'll Never Give Up
by never been better
Summary: The threat of Lord Voldemort looms on Hogwarts Castle, Lily Evans in particular. In order to fulfill a prophecy, she must befriend her worst enemy..
1. Unexpected Visitors

_A/N: welcome to the wonderful world of fiction i never finish. I posted this story about 7 months ago, and fully intended to finish it. It didn't happen, but I am reposting in the hopes some will read, enjoy, review, and pester me to continue. This will actually be my third attempt to tell this story. Don't let that discourage you though, please R&R.

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Summary: Lily and James' sixth year, Lily's POV. Not your average love story, and i suck at summaries. Read the first two chapters and you will know what it's all about.

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**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books obviously does not belong to me, because I am not JK Rowling.**

Lily Evans was a highly unusual girl in many ways. For one thing, she hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, she really wanted to do her homework, but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of the night. And she also happened to be a witch.

The main reason for most of Lily's peculiarities could be summed up using one word: Petunia. The elder of the two sisters by a year and a half (17 months, 24 days, 8 hours and 6 minutes as Petunia would say), Petunia had wasted no time after finishing secondary school before becoming engaged; least of all to the worst sort of muggle imaginable.

His name was Vernon Dursley, and he was 4 years her senior. Recently, he had taken to coming to call on Petunia nearly every day, and unfortunately the pair had nothing better to do than sit around the house and criticize Lily's every move.

Lily tried to convince herself it was jealousy. After all, some would say Petunia was quite attractive. She was tall, thin (a little too thin in Lily's opinion, for she was also frail and bony), and blonde. However, these features did nothing to set her apart from the crowd, and she was quite ordinary.

Lily, on the other hand, could only be described as beautiful. Her thick auburn hair always fell in just the right way upon her shoulders, and her almond shaped eyes were a bright yet deep green. Although she was quite a bit shorter than her sister, her height complimented her thin frame.

So it came to pass that Lily spent nearly every day wandering the streets of her small town. Exploring the antique shops that littered it happened to be her favorite pastime, because every now and then, she came across an object so obviously magical it was a wonder the muggle owner had even put it on the shelf. Every time this happened she purchased the item, and by midsummer she had filled up nearly all the shelf-space in her bedroom.

When needed, Lily was also quite happy to work in her mother Rosemary's small bookshop, chatting with customers about their favorite novels and preparing coffee for them to drink while they perused the bookshelves. Reading books, particularly re-reading her favorites, was one of Lily's favorite activities.

Lily's continuous absence from her house presented a problem, however, she needed a time and place where she could do her homework undisturbed. Thus, she found herself staying up past 2 o'clock nearly every night. A particular essay for McGonagall was posing a particular threat, because, advanced as she was, transfiguration was surely her worst subject. Lily simply could not find enough information in any of the books she owned to write a well-organized essay on the ingredients needed for a proper truth-telling potion. She was dozing and her eyes began to close just as she heard the creak of her door.

"I wasn't sleeping," Lily said calmly as she shook her head and continued with her essay.

"Are you still awake studying?" Lily's father Richard asked, poking his head in her bedroom.

"Well, yes," said Lily matter-of-factly, "I would like to get this all done before the train-ride to Hogwarts."

"Lily, you do realize you don't have to do this at night," Richard reasoned, "There's a thing called daytime as well, Vernon and Petunia won't bother you."

"I'm sorry Daddy, but you're wrong, they just won't do it in front of you," Lily answered sweetly.

"Oh, well suit yourself," Richard sighed as he turned down the lights in her bedroom, "But don't stay up to late."

"I won't," Said Lily smiling, and she blew him a kiss, "Goodnight Daddy."

"Goodnight Lily," he said as he caught the kiss and pocketed it, shutting her door quietly.

Lily sat and stared at the door for quite some time after it was closed. She absolutely adored her father. For the first eleven years of her like he had been practically invisible to her. He was a businessman, coming and going as work allowed, taking extended trips to places such as America and Japan, leaving her mother's heart shattered every time he walked out the door.

But when she received her Hogwarts letter, things changed. He returned home from a 3-week stay in Hong Kong to find an overjoyed Rosemary thrusting a letter in his hand. He read the letter- which stated that Lily was in fact a witch- with disbelief on his face. When he was quite finished, he walked slowly up the stairs without comment into his study. Three hours later he emerged, and announced to the family that Rosemary would finally be able to open the bookshop she had always dreamed about, and he was quitting his job to become an author. Petunia had been furious. Now about to enter her sixth year at Hogwarts, the changes her father announced that night had become permanent, much to Lily's older sister's dismay.

Lily finished her musings and looked down at her almost blank piece of parchment. It was true that it was only the middle of July, and she had ages to finish her homework. As well, this one only one of two essays she had left. Sighing, she set down her books, parchment, prompt, and quill next to her bed and pulled her covers over her. Within minutes a deep sleep had swept over her, as if only waiting for her to quit fighting it.

The very next morning, Lily sat by herself in her mother's bookshop, working all alone while her mother and father accompanied Petunia and Vernon on their quest across Europe to find the perfect wedding location. No customers had yet shown up, so she busied herself dusting the books with her feather duster and organizing the store to her taste. A small bell chime signaled the first customer of the day, and she walked to the front of the store to find her least favorite person in the world.

"Hullo, Evans," James Potter said in a deep masculine tone.

"Hello, Potter," Lily said coolly as she turned and began to stack the new arrivals, "What are you doing here?"

"What? A guy can't drop in to see his favorite girl every once in awhile?" He said, and when she turned around, he gave her a confident grin.

"Not when it's you," Lily's icy voice cut through the air. "How did you even know I worked here?"

"Well, it was pretty easy, since I am a god and all," James said nonchalantly while browsing the bookshelves. He looked down at her, catching her eye and smiled. "No, actually my parents have decided to go on an antique shopping spree, and since this little town of yours is like antique heaven, they decided to start here. Besides, you would be surprised how many magical objects can be found in muggle antique shops. Idiots buy 'em, and it's an awful mess for the ministry. How do I look as a muggle?" He twirled like a fashion model and smiled.

"Horrendous, but you still haven't answered my question," she persisted, quietly noting that he was actually quite good looking in muggle attire.

"Oh yeah," he said with a smile, "To be honest I didn't know, my parents were paying for some antiques and having a conversation with the muggle next door when I said I would be in the next shop, and they told me they were planning on coming here next, so here I am."

"Wonderful," Lily sighed. "And to be honest, I don't think your parents will have much luck finding magical objects here, I've combed this town pretty well."

She did not look up from her stacking again until the door jingled for a second time. Strangely, James did not carry on annoying her, but seemed lost in a book he had pulled from a shelf.

The Potters walked in, and had Lily not known them to be James' parents, she would have never thought them to be wizards. Mrs. Potter's long auburn hair was pulled into an elegant ponytail, and her glasses made her look stylish and sophisticated. Mr. Potter, however, had the same jet black hair as James, and it seemed that although he had tried to tame it, there was no hope. What struck her most was both of them had bright, icy blue eyes, and for a split second she wondered where James' mysterious hazel eyes had come from.

"Mum, Dad," James said at once, "This is erm… Lily Evans, my friend from school."

"Oh what a pleasant surprise!" said Mrs. Potter, "I wasn't aware there were any wizarding families in this area."

"My mum and dad are muggles," Lily said quickly, "I'm a muggle-born witch."

"Oh well that's wonderful!" Mr. Potter exclaimed, "I'm glad James here met up with you, he was getting terribly annoying…"

"Yeah," said James, "hey, while you guys continue your quest for whatever you are looking for, can I hang out here? Lily and I have a lot of catching up to do?"

"We do?" Lily said a little quizzically while he looked at her pleadingly, "Oh, yes we do, I don't mind at all."

"Well, we wouldn't be able to return until later this evening…" Mrs. Potter said, unsure.

"That's alright," Lily said, surprised she was being this kind to James, considering the last time they had spoken, "The shop closes at six and I am usually here until seven."

"Well we shouldn't be that late," Mr. Potter said, as if he was pleading to leave his son behind as well.

"Alright," sighed Mrs. Potter, "We will back later this afternoon." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small scrap of parchment and a quill, "Is there a phone number to this shop where I can reach James if we need to talk to him?"

"Of course," Lily said, taking the quill and parchment and writing it down, "I'll answer the phone."

"Alright," said Mr. Potter, heading for the door, "We will see you later then."

"Yeah, later," James said distractedly. Lily looked over at him, and saw that he was lost in a book he had taken off of the shelf. At this, the Potters made their way out the door and down the street.

"Thanks for that," James said with relief, "You saved me back there, you did. Don't worry, I'll just sit here. I won't get in your way."

"You weren't having fun?" Lily said jokingly.

"Of course not," James replied, "My parents are mental."

"Oh, I don't know," Lily smiled, "Antique shopping can be quite fun." She would never divulge the information that this was in fact her guilty pleasure, and James looked at her as if she in fact was the mental one.

"Right," he said, with absolutely no agreement in his tone.

"So how did you parents know about telephones?" Lily asked, "I mean, I know you are pureblood as far back as medieval times."

"My parents are muggle freaks," he replied, "Since they are both pretty high up in the ministry, they doing a lot of liaising with muggles, they've just picked up some stuff. I guess this shopping spree is another phase of their muggle loving disease or something. By the way, thanks again for getting me out of it, I mean, I didn't really expect you to, given the state of our relationship."

Suddenly Lily turned ice-cold. "We have no relationship." She said plainly, "I did it because I am a kind person."

"Alright," he said, pulling the book he had been reading earlier from the shelf once again, "Don't mind me then."

"I won't," she replied.

Lily continued her cleaning, organizing, and reorganizing, as she watched James gaze intently into the pages of what she later found out was George Orwell's _1984_. _Well, at least he's not bothering me… _she thought. After an hour of helping a few customers, she glanced back over at him, and noticed he couldn't be farther than page 15.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly. He looked up as if she had woken him from a deep sleep.

"Oh, just this book," he said, looking back down at it, "'War is Peace?' what kind of rubbish is this?"

"You can't be further than twenty pages, obviously you aren't very into it," she pointed out.

"Oh, I guess your right," he sighed, "I'm just thinking about… erm… quidditch." A strange grin plastered his face.

"Okay, if you're not going to tell me," She smiled, "would you at least like something to drink?"

"Alright then," he said, and she sat down across from him and handed him a coffee.

The rest of the morning passed quite uneventfully. When a real customer arrived, Lily would jump up and move behind the desk, but after they left, she would resume her spot in the comfy armchair across from James, and they would talk about their summers, Hogwarts, what it would be like not to have classes with all of the gryffindors anymore, as they would be beginning their NEWT classes this year.

"But," James was quick to point out, "Me and Sirius have all the same classes, since we got all the same OWLs. I feel sorry for Peter though," he added, "he didn't do too well on his OWLs, I'm afraid he might be put in the remedial classes."

This, of course, was a shame, but Lily had expected no better out of Peter Pettigrew. He was such a scrawny boy; the only really amazing thing he had accomplished was getting in with the most popular boys at Hogwarts. However, the rest of the group only seemed to accept him for their amusement, tormenting him, and making him do all of their dirty work. Lily felt an immense compassion towards him. During the months leading up to their OWLs the previous year, she had spent three out of her five weeknights studying with him in a quiet corner, hoping that he might achieve at least a shadow of what she knew his friends were bound to accomplish. She knew it was hopeless, but she was disappointed to find that all her efforts had been fruitless.

"He did much better than he would have all on his own, of course," James added, seeing the disappointed look in Lily's face. Just then, the telephone rang, and Lily jumped up so quickly to answer it, a passerby would swear she had been sitting on a mousetrap which had just now decided to work.

"Good afternoon, Rosemary's Bookshop, how may I help you?" Lily answered the phone in a sweet voice. It was quite odd for anyone to call the shop, it was such a small town, people normally just dropped in, but she wanted to sound professional.

"Hello, is this Lily?" A woman's voice came back from the receiver, "This is Mrs. Potter, I'm really sorry, but I don't think we will be back as early as we expected. Would you mind terribly if James stayed with you until around 7 o'clock?"

Lily sighed and checked her watch, it was 4 o'clock. Normally, she would have minded terribly, but, not being surrounded by his posse seemed to bring about a change in James Potter, he had actually been quite a gentleman. "No, that's absolutely fine," she answered, "See you when you can get back." She paused for a second before turning to the figure sprawled on the floor examining books about football soccer in awe. "Turns out you'll be here longer than expected, your parents are… er… busy I suppose."

"No surprise there…" he sighed, "look, I'm really sorry about all of this; I really didn't expect them to take this long. I should've, they are always like this, but I didn't."

Lily chose to ignore this comment; he was getting a little too nice. Instead, she busied herself replacing the books customers had left on the tables which littered the bookshop after quickly browsing.

"I'm calling for dinner," she said finally, "are you hungry?"

"Of course!" he said smiling, "I mean, when am I not?"

"Good point," she agreed, picking up and dialing the telephone, "Do you like Chinese?"

"Chinese people?" he said in a confused voice, but Lily could not answer, for the person on the other line had answered. After placing her order, she begged them to please bring it down the street to the shop, since she could not leave.

"Chinese people?" James asked again, utterly bewildered.

"Chinese food," Lily answered, grinning at the thought that, although he knew much more than she about the wizarding community, he had absolutely no idea about anything about muggles.

"Ah, yes, I knew that," he said with a lopsided grin, and Lily could tell he knew no such thing.

"You're very lucky you know…" James mused distractedly, about a half an hour later, as Lily continued to clean the bookshop.

"Why is that?" She asked in a polite voice. After all, how could he know if she was lucky? He came from a wealthy family, was a talented wizard, revered by some as a genius, and he could have any girl he wanted, except, of course, Lily, because she was not shallow, and not planning on falling for _that_ any time soon.

"You are just… I dunno… lucky, to be living with all the muggles. I mean, until recently, the muggles didn't even realize there was something evil out there, and even now, little muggle towns like this are safe." He sighed. "That's why my parents love visiting these towns, they like to know what all the wizards are sacrificing for, so towns like these can continue being ignorant and happy."

Lily smiled. She had never thought of it this way, the idea of all the muggles living without fear of the Dark Lord… of Voldemort. She shook the thought out of her head. Just at that moment, a bell jingled.

"That's our food!" Lily cried, jumping for joy at the thought of an entire Chinese feast. James watched her run to the door, and moments later she returned with a large bag in her hand.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, "All of that for two people?"

"Of course," She smiled, "That's the great thing about Chinese food: there is a lot of it!" She began opening the cardboard packages. "Have you ever eaten on the ground before?" she said, sitting on the floor and patting the ground next to her.

"No," he said apprehensively.

"And you've never eaten Chinese food either?" she asked.

"Nope," he said, taking the seat next to her.

"Than this is two new experiences in one for you tonight," and she took a pair of chopsticks and began eating the sweet and sour pork.

"What are those?" he said, pointing at the chopsticks.

"These," she began, clearly enjoying all his confusion, "Are chopsticks. You eat with them." She proceeded to teach him how to use them, and after many failed attempts, he was able to successfully pick up a small amount of food. While James devoured his food, occasionally spitting out phrases such as "this is bloody brilliant!" and "wicked!" a bell jingled for a second time, and Lily looked up to see a young boy of about her age, with dark brown hair and a tall, chiseled body, walking through the door.

"Put that down," she hissed at James, who had been prodding the fried rice with his wand, which he hastily stuffed into his jeans pocket. "Hey, Carl!" Lily cried, standing up to go greet him. "What are you doing here?"

"I got off work early, and I didn't want you to be lonely here all day all by yourself," he said, a tone of hurt in his voice, "I didn't realize you had company."

"Oh!" she cried, understanding his plight, "I'm really glad you came by, I thought I was going to be alone all day as well! This is my friend, er… James." She searched for the words that would not get her, as well as the entire wizarding community in big trouble. "Remember how I told you I go to boarding school most of the year up north?"

"Yes," Carl answered, slightly bewildered.

"Well, James is a friend from there," she said, amazed her cover story was so close to the truth.

James stood up to say hello, shaking Carl's hand a tad bit more firmly than he would have with a common acquaintance. Lily had always given James credit for at least being rather fit, but next to Carl he looked scrawny and weak.

"James," Lily said uncomfortably, "This is my… er… friend, Carl. We've been dating for the past couple of weeks." James just nodded, apparently incapable of speech. Carl kissed Lily on the cheek, making it apparent to James they were not dating around, and that Carl thought of this as quite a serious relationship.

"I better be going," he said, "My mum is waiting for me at home, and I just thought I would stop by."

"Alright," Lily said. "See you tomorrow then?"

"Of course," he said, giving James a final glare and heading out the door.

"So you two are quite serious then?" James asked, trying to sound as though he didn't care either way, but failing dismally at it.

"Not as serious as Carl likes to think," said Lily, not noticing James' concern. "I have enough to be going on with without a steady boyfriend."

"Right," James said simply, and sat down, once again picking up a book about football.

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_A/N: I decided to open with the two getting along instead of fighting, and then move on to more hating of guts by Lily and failed wooing by James because I wanted it to be a real disappointment when they fight. Anyways, most of these stories open with squabbling, but I wanted a really good picture of why they should be together, not just the fact that we know they will be._

_Also, Carl's name was originally Brandt, which to me, siginfies a real preppy, jockyname, just the perfect name for a football soccer player. However, although it is a British name, I thought it sounded too young for the 70's, so I changed it to Carl, which, although ugly, is fitting, since it means 'strong one.'_


	2. The Death Eater

_A/N: I wrote this so long ago i don't know what to say, enjoy!

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**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, and I also regret to announce I am not JK Rowling.**_

After about a half hour of uncomfortable silence, a jingle signaled the arrival of yet another visitor. Looking towards the doorway, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Potter, and was very thankful that they had arrived early. After a few polite words, the family turned to leave.

"Well," said James, "Bye then."

"Yes, goodbye." Lily answered distractedly. She sat musing for a moment. This was surely not the James Potter she remembered. Perhaps he had an evil twin. No, that couldn't be right, the James Potter she knew _was _the evil twin. As she left the shop and began to walk back to her house, not looking forward to She allowed her memory to bring her back to the last time the two had spoken, at the end of term celebratory feast.

"_Of course, Gryffindor would never have won if it hadn't been for my superb chasing at the final match against Ravenclaw," James was telling his best friends Sirius, Remus, and Peter, loudly enough that Lily, who was sitting a few seats down, was torn from her book to endure yet another of his bragging sessions._

"_Don't be thick Prongs," Sirius replied, "If it hadn't been for that third year reserve seeker Barrington we would have been crushed. Bourke got ploughed in the first five minutes and there was no way _you_ would seek."_

"_Yeah, whatever," James said nonchalantly. "I could've caught the snitch and played chaser at the same time."_

"_Wow mate, Evans was right about you, you are a regular braggart!" Remus offered, referring to the incident by the lake which had occurred about a week prior._

"_Nah," James said, "Evans was just kidding around, she can't help it that she's secretly in love with me. Sometimes it gets to her and she is forced to pretend she hates me to keep herself from coming up and snogging me senseless right on the spot."_

_Lily, who had become increasingly furious as the conversation evolved, finally reached her breaking point, and said in a not-so-casual voice, "What was that Potter?"_

_James flinched slightly, but covered it up by responding in a suave tone, "I was just telling my good friends here about your undying affection."_

"_You misspoke, Potter," Lily said in a newly calm voice, "I think you meant to say 'affliction,' after all, that's what you are, a bloody disease I can't get rid of!"_

"_As if you wanted to…" James responded in a dreamlike tone, "After all, you are a lucky girl to be offered the chance to have this," he stood up and twirled, as if showing off everything he had to offer, "C'mon, why don't you go out with me? The least you could do is come out to the entrance hall with me; I know you have been dying to get a good snog in for a while."_

_At this, Lily had finally had all she could take. "You are unbelievable! Do I have to remind you every day how disgusting I find you? Can you not get it through your thick skull? Sorry, mate, but I don't even like you as a person! You are foul, loathsome, even worse than the Slytherins! I wouldn't be caught dead snogging with you, though I wouldn't put it past you to try! Maybe you can get your fat head around this, _I am not interested!_" _

_At this, Lily had stormed off to the deserted Gryffindor common room, but she stopped halfway up the stairs out of the entrance hall, for familiar were drifting up the stairwell._

"_I just don't get her," James was saying in an angry, yet hurt, voice._

"_Mate, you have never spoken a truer word." A voice answered, which, after careful deliberation, Lily decided belonged to Sirius._

"_Am I as much of a prat as she makes me out to be?"_

"_Around Lily?" a slight pause, then, "Actually I think she is rather kind. Come on, you have been in love with her since, what? Third year? You are just trying to make her like you."_

"_She never will," James let out a deep sigh._

"_You don't know that! Just be nice to her for once, don't be so degrading! Be yourself, and please, do not talk about quidditch." Sirius begged._

"_I'll try. Next year, she won't know what hit her."_

"_That's what I'm talking about! Don't talk like that!"_

"_Alright, let's go."_

_Lily snorted, then realizing they were following her, she hurried up the stairs, hoping she would be able to get to the common room before they arrived._

Lily was finally pulled out of her thoughts when she approached her house, seeing that all of the lights were on. _That's odd,_ she thought, for no one was due home until the next day. She proceeded to her front door, which was unlocked, and opened it, revealing a scene she never would have expected.

Her father lay, bound in tight coils, on the floor of the living room. Blood was pouring from a deep cut above his forehead, and his right leg was bent into a grotesque shape which couldn't be normal.

"Daddy?" she breathed, not fully comprehending the situation.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, "Leave now, run, go somewhere safe, just leave!" Lily, however, stayed frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do.

"Ms. Evans, how nice of you to join us," said a sneering voice, and moments later, a figure shrouded in black robes appeared out of the kitchen.

_This can't be happening,_ Lily thought wildly, _I'm safe, this is a muggle town, why would a Death Eater attack _me

The figure suddenly conjured coils identical to those restraining Lily's father and Lily was forced against a wall, bound so tightly she was afraid to move for fear of the coils cutting into her skin.

"Now, Lily," the death eater said, in a slimy voice she recognized from somewhere, though she had no idea where, "Your father and I have just been having a little chat. You see, he knows far too much, and I simply cannot allow him to go on living, he may, although I can assure you he hasn't yet, pass this information on to you, which would be quite bad indeed." Glancing at the horrified look on Lily's face, the death eater continued.

"I arrived here with the full intention of killing your father right away, and then getting on with my duties. However, I thought it would be much more personal if you were here, and I was gracious enough to allow you to view your father's execution. I am not all bad, however, I will allow you to exchange final words, but I do pray you, get on with it, I have much to do and very little time to do it." Once again the death eater paused, then resumed speech.

"I'm not going to kill _you_ Lily my dear, oh no, you are far too valuable to my Lord and his plans, but I can cause you a great deal of pain, so I suggest you begin, for my patience is running thin."

"Lily, listen to me," her father said quietly, while the death eater sat in the armchair, apparently amused. "I'm not going to act all noble and not take my last chance to talk to you. _They do need you_. He's going to let you go, he's not gong to kidnap you, but listen, you need to understand before you make your decision, go to Dumbledore, he will explain it to you. Don't cry Lily, I have known about this ever since you got your letter. I will be fine. I love you Lily. Dumbledore will explain everything to you. I love you, you are so special."

"I love you daddy…" Lily whispered.

"Ah, how sentimental," the death eater said sarcastically, "I have half a mind not to do what I came here to do… lucky the other half of my mind is sane…_Avada Kedavra!" _Lily watched the green light fly towards her father, and he closed his eyes peacefully before the jet hit him square in the chest, and he suddenly went limp. Lily bit her lip hard to keep herself from screaming, silent tears pouring down her cheeks.

With a pop, the death eater had disapparated, and Lily felt her binds loosen. Blood was trickling down her chin from biting her lip too hard, and she sank to the floor shaking, before she passed out.

"She's alive, isn't she?"

"Yes- she's alive, she's just passed out."

"How did this happen!"

"I don't know, ma'am, all I know is the ministry sent me here to sort this out, and that's what I am doing."

Lily stirred and opened her eyes to see her mother hovering above her looking immensely concerned, and a young man Lily didn't know, though he couldn't be older than twenty or twenty one, with a wand, who she supposed was a ministry official.

"Mother!" Lily cried as soon as she realized where she was, "They were here! They came, and they told me- oh Mother! _Daddy's dead!"_

"I know honey, sshh…" her mother brought her into a comforting hug, "I know." Lily was released from her mother's grasp, and she sank back against the wall.

"Lily?" the ministry wizard said carefully, "Can I ask you a few questions?" Lily just nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. The wizard held out his hand.

"My name is Gideon Prewett," he said slowly, as Lily took his hand and he shook her gently, "I work for the ministry, and I know this is hard for you, but I need you to tell me what happened." He paused, letting this sink in. "After that, I'm going to take you to see Dumbledore." Lily nodded again, and after a deep breath, told Gideon everything that had happened, watching her mother shake with dry sobs out of the corner of her eye.

"Thank you," he said, "Mrs. Evans, I hate to do this to you, but I really need to take Lily to see Dumbledore, will you be alright?"

"Yes, I will be fine, my mother is on her way, thank you," Rosemary said in a soft voice. Lily stood to see her father's corpse had been removed, and the living room looked quite normal, despite a haunted feeling, as if the presence of what had happened there in the past would never leave, and Lily couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

Gideon Prewett grabbed a pillow off of the sofa which was no longer comfy and inviting, and whispered "_Portus,"_ tapping it with his wand. "Grab on Lily. Three…two…one…" at once Lily felt something jerk somewhere in the region behind her naval. She was soaring through the air, and, as suddenly as it had begun, the sensation stopped, and she was lying in a heap on a cold, stone floor.

An aged hand appeared suddenly before her face, and Lily took it, allowing herself to be hoisted to her feet. Albus Dumbledore stood before her, gazing down at her in a grandfatherly fashion. "Ah, Lily," he said, "I am so sorry to hear about your father, I think you should come with me." He made his way down a narrow stone passageway and went through the door at the end, which revealed a small room, which Lily supposed was a makeshift office for Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Lily asked inquisitively, "Where are we?"

"We are at the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, Lily," Dumbledore answered, "But that, I will explain later, now, I think you need to read this." He handed her a thick letter, which simply said 'Lily' in her father's handwriting across the front. She opened it slowly and saw her father's loopy handwriting scrawled across the page, and as she began to read, silent tears poured once again down her face.

_My Dear Lily,_

_If you are reading this, it means that I am no longer with you, at least in the physical world. I know it sounds strange, but I have probably been expecting this for awhile. I don't know how old you are as you read this, but I know as I write this you are eleven years old. You are so talented, so beautiful, and I think you are amazing, not only because you are a witch, but because you have the most beautiful soul I have seen in a person since long before you were born. In a couple of days, you will be boarding the train to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It seems so amazing to me, I never would have guessed it were possible. I am so sorry for the first eleven years of your life, I know I haven't always been there for you, but I am going to try hard to be there for you, your mother, and Petunia as long as I can._

_As I said before, I have been expecting this attack for quite some time. I don't know how much Dumbledore has told you yet, but I am going to tell you what I know. You have a role to play in this war against Voldemort, a role that only you can fill. A time will come when you will have to make a very difficult decision, I cannot tell you what the decision is, and I cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you a prophecy was made, and Dumbledore knows that the subject of the prophecy was you. The prophecy foretells an auburn haired girl entering Hogwarts, and something about the power of the Dark Lord. I don't really understand, but I suppose Dumbledore does. From what I do understand, a time will come when you will lose a family member you hold dear. Just know that I love you, and although I can't tell you which decision will be the right one, I know you will make it, because I know you, Lily, and I love you._

_Love,_

_Daddy_

Lily looked up at Dumbledore, he cheeks tearstained. "I'd like to hear the prophecy," she said simply.

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_A/N: KEEP READING!_

_GO! GO!_


	3. The Ministry of Magic

_A/N: just about the ministry and stuff. kind of short and boring but the next chapter is already up

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**Disclaimer:Everything about Harry Potter that JK Rowling owns, I don't own, because I am not JK Rowling... In fact, I don't own anything! Not even my computer!** _

"Ah, yes, of course," Dumbledore sighed heavily, "Follow me."

Lily found herself walking once again down the narrow stone passageway which she had arrived in. Torches were burning in their brackets, but the flames seemed to give off little light. Although the flames were a cheery orange, the passage seemed to give off a sort of blue tint, making Lily even more gloomy and depressed than she had been when she had arrived.

"It's not fair," she whispered to herself, though Dumbledore obviously caught her words.

"No, it's not fair," he agreed quietly, "In fact, it may well be the least fair thing anyone in this world will have to go through, and I cannot express the sadness it brings to my heart to see that this awful experience has chosen you, of all the people in the world."

He paused and drew breath, as though the words he had uttered may well have been the most depressing words he would speak in his life. "It does seem that the most difficult circumstances to endure are bestowed upon the kindest of people."

As Dumbledore spoke, they began to climb a long spiraling staircase, where they finally emerged into what seemed to be a dungeon; though it was quite obvious whoever the dungeon belonged to had tried to make it as cheery as possible. Dumbledore crossed the room to sit at a rough wooden table, beckoning Lily to take the seat across from him.

"Gideon, would you be kind enough to make Lily here a cup of tea?" Dumbledore said kindly in Lily's direction. Lily turned to see Gideon Prewett busying himself at a makeshift stove; he simply nodded and began to make tea.

"Now Lily, I know this is a difficult day for you, and this all seems to be happening at once, but I am going to take you one more place, and I hope that you will understand later why I must put all of this on you now. Until you are ready to leave, of course, I am free to answer any questions you may have."

Lily couldn't believe it, of course she had questions. Thousands of questions were swimming in her head. She knew, though, that Dumbledore was not likely to have the answer to many of them, including: _why would people want to cause other people pain? Why do I have to be the one this is happening to? _And, worst of all, _why didn't they just kill me?_ Lily, however, knew that Dumbledore would not, even if he knew the answer, be able to give a straight answer to these questions, so she settled for a question not so prominent in her mind, but burning all the same.

"What is this place?" she had meant to ask what the organization Dumbledore had mentioned earlier was, but she couldn't remember the name, and knew Dumbledore would probably explain that as well.

"Of all the questions you could have asked me, that was the one I least expected," Dumbledore said, a faint trace of a twinkle in his eye. "I am glad you did, though, because that is a question I can actually answer.

"This is the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. As much as I would love to tell you our exact location, this is information you can simply not know yet, though I do not doubt sometime in your future you will. For now it will suffice for me to tell you we are in a place quite hidden from the rest of the world, and precious few have had the opportunity to come here.

"You probably wonder, as I know I would, had I been placed in your position, what the Order of the Phoenix is. Have you, by chance, heard rumors of this secret order in your school?"

"No," Lily said, confused, but she then realized that she had, in fact, heard of a small organization of people, united in the fight against Voldemort, though she had thought at the time these rumors were simply fantasies, superheroes of sort, and it had never been named as the 'Order of the Phoenix.' "Well, yes, I have heard of it, but I didn't really believe it existed, although I wanted it to, and I don't understand everything that it involves…"

At this, a real smile broke on to Dumbledore's face, and the twinkle in his eye Lily had always remembered returned. "The Order of the Phoenix is, simply, an organization I instated about two years ago to fight Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, as the ministry has been making a rather mess of it." Gideon, who, of course, worked for the ministry, chuckled at this, and Dumbledore paused, resuming when Gideon had muttered an apology and handed Dumbledore and Lily each steaming cups of hot tea, "We are, however, seriously behind in our work, but do not fear, because you could never be in a safer place than you are right now."

Lily nodded, then, after an uncomfortable silence, asked another question, "Professor, could you tell me more about this prophecy?"

Dumbledore sighed yet again, then began to speak, "Lily, that is the question I feared you would ask, and the answer, I am sorry to say, Is quite vague, but I will tell you what I can.

"About two hundred years ago, years and years, in fact, before I was born, two prophecies were made. As neither of these prophecies concerns me, I have not heard either one, but I will tell you what I have been told by learned men at the Department of Mysteries.

"Both prophecies were made in succession by an accomplished seer, by the name of Aislin Trelawney. Some, in fact, regard them as a single prophecy, though, after careful consideration, those at the Department of Mysteries who have researched these prophecies thoroughly regard them as separate prophecies foretelling different aspects of a similar event.

"The first of these foretells the arrival of a powerful Dark Lord, just when the wizarding world is rejoicing over the conquest of another Dark Lord. The Department of Mysteries has decided this is referring to the presence of Lord Voldemort, who, although he did not gain power until some years after, began his quest as Lord Voldemort about 10 years after my defeat of Grindelwald, just as things for the wizarding world were getting back to normal.

"The second prophecy is much harder to decipher. It speaks of a muggle-born witch, with emerald eyes and hair like fire. There is little doubt in my mind, and the minds of those who have studied this prophecy, that it is referring to you. It also speaks of a destiny the subject is meant to fulfill. I, however, will allow you to listen to the prophecy and form your own ideas about it, before I taint your thoughts with an old man's theories." Dumbledore paused and examined Lily's face, as if looking for a sign of fear or resolve, but he found neither, and after a short breath, continued,

"Now, if you are ready, I think it is time we take a look at this prophecy. I am right, I think, in assuming you have not yet visited the ministry of magic?"

Lily shook her head and muttered something to the effect of "No, I haven't."

Dumbledore laughed and simply said, "That is probably for the best, now, if you would follow me to the fire, I will floo first, and you will kindly go after me."

Lily just nodded, and followed Dumbledore over to the fire, where he scattered a pinch of sea green powder over the flames, stepped in, and called, "Ministry of Magic, London." In a rush of emerald flame, he disappeared, and the fire returned to normal.

A bit nervously, lily reached into the small jar and took out a bit of floo powder for herself. True, she had traveled by floo before, but it was always quite a nerve wracking experience. She scattered the powder over the flames, and quickly stepped in, not wanting to waste time. With a slightly anxious "Ministry of Magic, London," she felt herself begin to spiral.

After what seemed like ages of whirring emerald flame and dozens of glimpses through unfamiliar fires, Lily was thrown from the fire, trying her best to be graceful, but failing dismally at it. For the second time in a day, she grasped the aged hand of Dumbledore, who kindly pulled her to her feet.

When she had gotten over the shock of traveling hundreds of miles through strange chimneys, Lily chanced a look around the room she had landed in. She was standing on a grand oak floor, and the walls on each side were lined with at least a dozen magnificent fireplaces. Looking up, she saw a bright blue ceiling, with golden symbols moving dreamily across it. In the center of this magnificent room, some sort of construction was taking place and she heard shouts of wizards arguing over whatever it was they were building.

"No, we don't want a leering goblin!"

"But I thought it would be more—"

"Well you thought wrong! Look at this house-elf; we need a goblin who admires the wizard!"

"Yes, sir. I will get on it right away, and if I may make another suggestion—"

"No you may not make another suggestion! What do you think I am? a comment box!"

"No, sir."

"Well get on with your work, and _fix that goblin!"_

Lily chuckled to herself; she couldn't picture a goblin admiring a wizard. She agreed with the second man. A leering goblin would be far more appropriate.

"If you will follow me," Dumbledore said, steering her toward a small desk with a large sign labeling it "Security."

"Wand," The man behind the desk said from behind _The Daily Prophet_, holding out his hand. Lily quickly checked her pockets. Did she have her wand? She never went anywhere without it, surely she had brought it along…

"I don't have it," she said quietly. The wizard eyed her suspiciously, but Dumbledore assured him that she was telling the truth, and steered Lily from the desk.

Suddenly Lily was standing in front of a series of lifts, one of which immediately opened, and she found herself being ushered to the rear. The lift inched steadily downward, witches and wizards exiting at their respective floors. Finally, she and Dumbledore were the only people left. The words 'Department of Mysteries' flashed quickly before the lift opened.

Lily followed Dumbledore down a long corridor, at the end of which there was a single black door. At the front of the door he paused and turned to Lily.

"Ms. Evans you need to listen to me. You are about to enter the Department of Mysteries. Precious few witches and wizards have set foot behind this door, and I would strongly advise you not to delay. Stay close by me and, whatever you may see, do not pause."

Lily nodded. She didn't plan on pausing for any reason. Just the words _Department of Mysteries_ sent a chill through her spine. What mysteries could possibly be housed here?

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_A/N: mmm.. don't you love cliffhangers when the next chapter is already posted?_


	4. The Prophecy

_A/N: Everyone loves a good prophecy! i don't know whether i really like this chapter, but i'm the author, and authors are never happy with what they've done. make your own assumptions._

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**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, from the shirt on my back to the keyboard which I so lovinglytap away at.Not even Harry Potter! Or, for that matter anything associated with it!**

Dumbledore opened the door and stepped through rather unceremoniously. Lily didn't know what she had been expecting. _Perhaps fireworks or an orchestra, _she thought wildly to herself. She followed him over the threshold, turning to close the door.

"Don't!" Dumbledore said suddenly, but calmly all the same.

Lily wasn't sure how he had seen her. He was, and had always been, looking straight ahead, not glancing over his shoulder at Lily. She heeded his warning however, and let the door be.

Unaware of what to expect, Lily chanced a look around the room. Everything was black, from the walls and the ceiling to the dozen or so doors spaced at regular intervals along the single, circular wall. The only light was coming from dozens of candles, each of which burned a pale, ghostly blue flame.

Lily immediately wished she could examine the contents behind each of the intriguing black doors, but Dumbledore was already crossing the room, and Lily, remembering her promise, quickly followed suit.

She found herself embalmed in a ray of beautiful, diamond-bright light. She looked to see that the source of the light was an enormous bell-jar, made of crystal and full of something glittery, blowing in the wind.

Lily very much wanted to examine this jar more closely, but Dumbledore was already sweeping through the room to a door at the other end. Lily followed once again, pausing briefly at the threshold, taking one longing glance back at the beautiful, swirling wind. She made to enter the next room, stopping suddenly in utter surprise.

It seemed to Lily as though she had just entered the largest library imaginable. The room was immense, filled with nothing but rows and rows of shelves. She expected the shelves to house books, but instead they were filled with tiny glass orbs, glimmering slightly through a curtain of dust. As in the circular room through which she had entered the Department of Mysteries, the torches in their brackets were burning an eerie, blue flame.

"Follow me," Dumbledore whispered, fog coming from his mouth, for the room was very cold. Lily knew why he was using such a hushed voice. The room was so huge, so imposing, it seemed only proper to whisper, so not to disturb the dusty glass balls.

He turned left and began walking purposefully down the rows of shelves. She glanced at the row they had emerged in front of. Row fifty-three. Lily followed Dumbledore down the many rows.

Forty-nine… forty-eight… the numbers were getting smaller as they walked on. Dumbledore, however, did not slow his pace.

Thirty-four… thirty-three… they must be getting close now, these balls were so dusty one would hardly be able to tell they were made of glass.

Twenty-eight… twenty-seven… couldn't be much further now… Dumbledore turned abruptly, and Lily, who had kept walking, had to backtrack to turn down the row Dumbledore had. _Row twenty-four… _Lily noted to herself. Not looking where she was going, she bumped right into Dumbledore.

"Umph!" she grunted, "Oh, sorry professor…"

"That is quite alright Lily…" he pointed to a particularly dusty orb; it obviously had not been touched for many years. "There… that is something that may interest you."

Lily looked to where he was pointing. Below the glass ball was a label, in quite fancy handwriting, it stated:

C.A.T. to W.B.P.A.D

(?) Dark Lord

And

(?) Lily Evans

Final Applicant Unknown

"What's this?" Lily asked Dumbledore, unsure of why they had stopped there, and why the label had her name on it.

"That," Dumbledore answered slowly, "Is the prophecy which I have told you not nearly enough about." Lily just nodded.

_Final applicant unknown…_Lily thought to herself. Dumbledore had not mentioned a third party; simply that it contained information about her and, she shuddered at the thought of the name, Voldemort.

Reaching up, Lily removed the dusty glass ball from the shelf. She had prepared for it to be cold, much like the rest of the strange room she was in. She was quite surprised when she felt it warm to her touch, as though it had been sitting in the sun, or perhaps blown incessantly by a hairdryer.

She looked up at Dumbledore, who suddenly looked much older. Lily had never really thought of him as an old man. True, his long hair and beard were both snowy white, but he had always seemed youthful. Now he looked aged, wizened, even slightly diminished.

"Alright, Lily," he said quietly. "Let's go."

She followed him out of the room full of glass orbs. _Row twenty-four…_ she found herself thinking again. She didn't know why she was remembering what row the prophecy was in, it wasn't likely that she would be returning to the department of mysteries, but she couldn't help it. _Row twenty-four._

As Lily and Dumbledore made their way back through the glittering room, she chanced one last glance at the glittering bell jar. It was beautiful, yes, but she no longer cared what mystery was contained in this ethereal room. The only mystery she was concerned with was a certain glass ball, and it was currently enclosed in her left hand.

Lily wasn't really aware of walking back through the odd round room and out of the department of mysteries. Her legs were carrying her, but her thoughts were elsewhere, not at all in her present state. She was, consequently, thoroughly surprised when she was once again standing in the crowded entrance hall of the ministry of magic, being handed a quill by Dumbledore.

"It's a portkey," he was saying. She grasped the end of the handsome eagle feather, and felt, for the second time that day, a familiar sensation in the region just behind her naval.

Lily landed rather hard on the stone floor of the passage where she had arrived much earlier that day. Dumbledore, who had amazingly managed to keep his footing, pulled her once again from the ground. Without a word, he made his way back into his office, sitting behind the desk upon which Lily's father's letter still lay.

It only took a glimpse of her father's beautifully untidy scrawl for Lily's eyes to well up with tears. She had been strong all day, she had listened to Dumbledore, she had gotten the prophecy, and it didn't change a thing, her father was still dead. He wasn't coming back. Lily had seen it, just like that, a rushing wind signaled the theft of his soul. She couldn't help it; she simply hung her head and sobbed.

Lily didn't know how long she sat there, tears pouring from her eyes, not daring to look anywhere but her own lap. She did know that it was not until some time later when the steady stream of salty liquid was dammed. She knew it wasn't gone, but perhaps her eyes thought it best that they take a break, and leave some tears for another occasion.

She looked determinedly at Dumbledore. His eyes did not twinkle, yet they did not show any sympathy. Rather, they showed a sort of understanding. Lily's heart suddenly hardened. She hated those eyes; everything about them, right down to their tiny black pupils. She hated them because they contained what she knew her eyes would never contain, understanding… understanding why people must experience loss.

Dumbledore, for what seemed like the umpteenth time since Lily had made seen him, sighed a great, heavy, sigh. "I think now it is time… I cannot put it off any longer," he said wearily. "You need to hear the prophecy."

Lily, of course, had no idea how she was to extract a prophecy from this tiny glass ball. But, just as she was staring at it, wishing with all of her might that it did not exist, a face appeared in it.

As she watched, amazed and bewildered, the face slowly began to rise from the glass ball, and soon the head and torso of a rather frail-looking witch was floating on the desk before her. She was very thin, but she was draped in multiple shawls, which gave her a hunched look, as though she was many years older than she actually was.

As Lily observed the strange woman, she began to speak,

"_THE DARK LORD WILL RISE SWIFTLY, MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY WHO CAME BEFORE HIM… TRY AS THEY MIGHT, THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARDS WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO CONQUER HIM… AS HIS POWER INCREASES, AN EMERALD EYED BEAUTY DISCOVERS HER DESTINY, UNAWARE OF THE POWER WITHIN... WITH HAIR LIKE FIRE, SHE WILL BE GIVEN A CHOICE FEW ENDURE… FROM A HORRIFIC LOSS A COMPANIONSHIP WILL EMERGE… AND PUREBLOOD AND MUDBLOOD WILL UNITE TO PRODUCE THE ONLY HOPE OF THE WIZARDING WORLD…"_

Lily just stared straight ahead. "It means me?" she asked, though she knew the answer already.

"There is no doubt in my mind that, it does, in fact, mean you," Dumbledore said.

Lily didn't know what to say. She didn't want to talk about it, but she also had no idea what it meant. She chanced another question.

"This prophecy," she began, unsure of where he question was going, "underneath of it, it said there was a third person involved, but I only noticed it mention two."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore agreed, "Of course, for the longest time, those at the department of mysteries only saw two in it as well. They believed, as I am sure it sounds to you, a red-haired witch would befriend this Dark Lord. However, the first prophecy makes it clear that the Dark Lord mentioned is Lord Voldemort and— many people do not realize this, but— he is a half-blood. Therefore it would come to pass that the pureblood mentioned is a third party."

"Okay," was all Lily said in response. She really didn't really know what to say. This was all hitting her at the same time, and she didn't know what to say. She merely sat there until Dumbledore began to speak again.

"The companionship mentioned I think is meant to emerge from the loss of your father. It is not, in my most humble opinion, a companionship with Lord Voldemort, however." Lily's heart immediately leapt at this thought, she had feared that was exactly what the companionship was.

Dumbledore continued, "I do not have all the answers, Lily, and I am sorry this was sprung upon you at such a difficult time in your life, but I, being only human, made the mistake of keeping this from you. Now, since the prophesied events are beginning to take place, I have no choice but to let you know now, at the worst time."

Lily just stared. He was right, it was a mistake to keep it from her. Now-- her heart already full to bursting-- she had the added burden of realizing that she must stumble around blindly, trying to fulfill a prophecy she did not understand, while the fate of the entire wizarding world rested on her shoulders.

"It's not fair," she muttered for the second time, eyes once again resting on the cold stone floor.

"I know," was all Dumbledore said in response.

Lily felt her temper rising, _how could he know? _"You don't know!" she heard herself screaming at Dumbledore, and before she could help herself, her fiery temper had gotten the best of her, and she was screaming at him all the hurt she felt, all the pain, the unfairness of it all. If she could make him feel perhaps a fraction of what she was feeling right now, perhaps then he would know.

"—you DON'T KNOW what it feels like! _You didn't lose your father today_! You didn't realize you had the fate of the _entire wizarding world_ on your shoulders! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU CAN'T KNOW!"

She stopped, fuming, and began to cry. She hadn't meant to blame this on Dumbledore, but he was still just sitting there, calm, and she sobbed into her own hands, "_you don't know._"

Lily returned later that day to her home, and over the next several days, hardly came out of her bedroom. She had furiously torn down all the pictures of her friends she had pinned up on the wall and thrown them in an old shoebox, most of them still smiling and waving at her. _What right do they have to be cheerful anyway?_ She thought bitterly to herself as she did this.

No right; that was the answer. No right at all. They had no business being happy, when her very soul was screaming with agony. She devoid her room of color, and pulled the curtains over the window, furiously trying to block out the summer sun. She spent the whole of every day lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and when night approached, she would slip into a tortured sleep, full of green flashes and rushing winds.

Her father's funeral had been the hardest. The pain was tripled by the fact that they could not reveal the true cause of his death, as his muggle friends would never understand. A car crash, that's what they put it to. Driving home late one night from London, he had swerved and hit a tree, no other cars were involved. His body was so mangled, they refused to open the casket. It was all lies.

Many days later—Lily didn't know how many, they seemed to slip by so slowly and she had quit keeping track—Lily's mother knocked on her door.

"We're going into London tomorrow," she said in a motherly tone, trying her best to comfort Lily, though she was grieving as well.

"Why?" Lily asked monotonously.

"We need to get your school supplies, you leave in three days."

"Oh, right." Lily couldn't believe it. She was returning to Hogwarts in three days? How was that even possible? Where had the time gone?

"Mum—" Lily began.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm sorry for what happened to daddy…"

"Don't blame yourself darling…" She smiled warmly, "I love your father very dearly, and I know he loves me, wherever he is. As you grow older, you will realize that the one's we love never really leave us. No, they are there, lingering just out of sight."

Lily smiled. It was the first smile that had broken her lips in days, since she had spent the entire day with James Potter. She had forgotten that day completely. "I love you daddy," she whispered, before falling into her first dreamless sleep.

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_A/N: The "A" stands for Aislin, which is the name I had originally given Cassandra Trelawny before I realized she was already named. Next chapter, GO!_


	5. Diagon Alley

_A/N: This chapter is fun, I love my OCs, i hope you do too._

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**Disclaimer: I only own Harry Potter in my dreams. So that means I don't. JK Rowling however, does.**

For the first time in years, Lily woke early and greeted the sunrise. When she was a young girl, she and Petunia would sneak out the back door every Sunday morning to watch the sun creep out from under their fence. Now, many years later, Lily sat alone on her back steps, watching what she had believed to be the furthest extent of magic in the world.

"I was quite wrong." She muttered to herself.

Watching the large glowing circle rise over the fence was calming to Lily, somehow it gave her confidence to face her first real day without her father. She ran up to her bedroom, carefully avoiding the living room, and dressed quickly. For some strange reason, she couldn't help but want to look her best. Today was the first day she would be facing the wizarding world—any world for that matter—since it had happened. Lily couldn't help but think to herself, _If I had never gone to Hogwarts, this never would have happened._

Lily sat by herself in the kitchen for quite a long time before Rosemary or Petunia awoke. Before it had happened, times like these would be spent with her father, perhaps discussing her most recent magical finds, perhaps a book the two of them had read, maybe even the book he was writing, though that would be a rare occurrence. This time, however, Lily was alone.

"Already up and ready?" she heard a voice ask from the kitchen door. Lily turned to see her mother standing there, still in her bed things, yawning and stretching. "We won't be leaving for about an hour."

"I know," Lily replied, "I just wanted to greet the sun this morning."

"You always did like that didn't you?"

"Petunia and I used to do it every morning."

"I know," Rosemary smiled dreamily, "Sometimes I would watch you do it. It always amazed me that two young girls could have so much energy that early in the morning, and still be getting along just fine."

"I guess we just grew out of it…"

"No, I don't think you will ever grow out of it, and I think you will always love each other. Somewhere along the way, you just… forgot."

At this, Petunia entered the kitchen.

"Honey, we're going in to London today," Rosemary began in a sweet voice, "We need to get your sister's school supplies."

"No." Petunia said firmly.

"But I thought that after we were finished there we could—"

"NO! I am not going anywhere with that... that… that freak!"

"It will only be for a little while darling…"

"NO!"

Lily swore Petunia's scream could be heard in Portugal, but she didn't care. She was used to being called "freak," "abnormal," or anything of the sort. Once Petunia told her that "her kind"—as she so lovingly referred to witches and wizards—would be much better off if they just burned the lot of them.

Two hours later Lily and her mother were barreling down the road on their way to London. A very angry Petunia was also sitting in the back seat, muttering inaudible phrases which included the words as "odd" and "anomalous." Lily even thought she heard her mutter, "burned at the stake, _they_ had the right idea."

Lily snorted at this. She knew, of course, that burning witches at the stake had no effect at all, and had just turned to tell Petunia this when her mother cried cheerily "We're here!"

"Lovely," Petunia said in a not-so-lovely voice.

Lily, however, jumped immediately from the car. Why had she been so apprehensive? This was her element, this was where she belonged.

The three Evans women made there way through the Leaky Cauldron. Lily smiled; the pub was quite as run-down and grubby as she remembered. In the back courtyard, Lily took out her wand.

"Put that thing away!" Petunia cried instantly.

"Would you just like us all to hang around here with the trash can all day?" Lily retorted, "If you want to get this done with, I need my wand."

She traced the bricks, three up, two across, and tapped three times. Petunia squealed and covered her eyes, for she knew what was coming next. When she had plucked up the courage to spread her fingers a bit, she was no longer facing the brick wall of the courtyard, but a bustling street, and Lily hurried through excitedly.

"Where do we need to go first?" Rosemary asked. Lily could tell she was trying to be cheerful, but the truth of the matter was she was quite as uncomfortable as Petunia.

"I'm not sure yet," Lily said truthfully. She had gotten her Hogwarts letter a few days ago, but she hadn't bothered to open it, her fury at the entire wizarding world being fat too great. She pulled it from her pocket, however, and, sitting on a nearby bench, read the first letter.

_Dear Ms. Evans,_

_Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock._

_Enclosed are your O.W.L. results, as well as a list of N.E.W.T. level classes you will be taking. Please note that if for any reason you show you are less than completely dedicated to any of these classes, you will be put back into the remedial class._

_A list of books and materials for next year is enclosed._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

O.W.L. results. That was what Lily was most interested. Immediately she scanned the next page. _Eleven O.W.L.s? _She could hardly believe it. Outstanding in Charms, well, that was easily her best subject. Exceeds Expectations in Transfiguration, not bad at all. She continued to scan her results, she could hardly believe it. Petunia cleared her throat, obviously eager to get their shopping done. Lily took out her book list and began to read.

_The Standard Book of Spells_ (Grade 6, Edition II)

By Miranda Goshawk

_Transfiguration for the Advanced_

By Emeric Switch

_Advanced Dark Arts and Protection_

By Varick Warner

Lily continued to read the booklist. Advanced ingredients for potions, which would mean a trip to the apothecary, something she always avoided when she could. Her robes, too, seemed to have shrunk over the past year; it would be wise to get some new ones.

"Well," Lily said to her mother and sister, "We're off to Gringotts."

They walked down the crowded street with some difficulty, owing to the fact that many Hogwarts students were busy doing last minute shopping. Lily ran into a couple of people she knew, none that she was particular friends with, but she liked most of them just as well. They smiled and each muttered a quick 'hello' before being on their way.

It wasn't long before the three Evans women found themselves standing in front of a towering ivory building. Lily made to go in, but her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her back, pointing at Petunia.

"She really doesn't like that place, Lily," Rosemary began.

"I know," Lily sighed. "Why don't you just give me the money and I'll exchange it by myself?"

Rosemary nodded in agreement and handed Lily a large roll of notes.

"That should be enough to cover your school supplies, plus I've included the money you earned working so much over the summer. Do you think that will last you through the year?"

Lily thumbed through the roll.

"Yes," she agreed. Besides sporadic trips to Hogsmeade village, she didn't really have occasion to spend her money. She knew, someway or another, many fifth, sixth, and seventh year students pooled together to buy bottles of firewhiskey from some of the more daring thieves—James Potter and his friends for example—but she had never participated in one of these pools, and didn't plan on it anytime soon. She didn't really remember what had happened the night her friends had convinced her to drink some after the last day of O.W.L.s, but she remembered the headache she had the next morning, and that was enough for her.

So Lily made her way into Gringotts alone. Truth be told, she didn't much care for the place either, but it was very safe. She stopped in front of the polished silver doors and read the warning engraved upon them, thinking about two of the lines.

_Those who take but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

The death eater had taken her father's life without a second thought. But had he earned that right? No. No one had the right to take a life. Lily pondered the second line. Voldemort and all his death eaters were taking things they hadn't earned. Some time, somewhere, they would be paying most dearly.

Lily made her way to the counter and approached a Goblin who was writing something. He looked up at her with suspicious eyes.

"Yes?" he sneered.

"I would like to exchange some muggle money." Lily said in a business-like manner. It was best not to get too snappish or too friendly with the goblins.

The goblin held out his hand and began to examine the notes, as if checking their authenticity. She wondered at this for a moment until she realized many crooked wizards probably brought in fake muggle money, hoping to make a quick Galleon.

When the goblin had decided that the money Lily had handed him was in fact genuine, he began making difficult calculations on a piece of parchment he had in front of him. He handed her quite a large stack of coins, which she hastily stuffed inter her purse, muttering a quick "thank you" and going on her way.

When she emerged from the doors of the bank, she was greeted with a very embarrassing sight. Petunia was sitting on a bench near the entrance, wailing about 'abnormalities' and the like. Rosemary was trying to calm her, but her soothing words seemed only to be making her daughter more angry.

"_It's her fault Daddy's dead!_" Petunia screamed, and Lily stopped dead, horrified. Her fault? How could Petunia even think to blame that on Lily? She couldn't have done anything to help him. Perhaps if she had never gone to Hogwarts, though. Maybe then things would have turned out different. Lily felt her eyes welling up, tears were going to start pouring down her face any second. _It was her fault._

"Get a grip," Lily muttered to herself, and took a deep breath. Petunia couldn't seriously blame this on her, and Lily couldn't take all the credit for herself. She walked carefully over to her howling sister and spoke directly to Rosemary.

"Mum, listen," Lily began. "I know you want to be here for me to buy all my school stuff and all, but I am sixteen and I think I can manage on my own. I think the best thing for you to do is to get her out of here as quickly as possible. Take her into London or something."

"You're right Lily," her mother agreed. "Are you sure you can manage on your own?"

"Positive," Lily said, "We'll meet back in the Leaky Cauldron around six."

The three said their goodbyes. Petunia's sobs were reduced to a small whimper at the thought of leaving Diagon Alley. AS Lily walked them walk back towards the Leaky Cauldron and muggle London, she half-wished they weren't going. True, they were highly embarrassing and very uncomfortable, but they were her family.

Lily wandered down the street, half-searching for a familiar face. She had gotten a few letters from her good friends, but none mentioned when they were coming into Diagon Alley. She looked around, hoping to spot her best friend Caron Trynt. Lily and Caron had met on the very first train-ride to Hogwarts. When they were both placed in Gryffindor, they became instant friends. Not long after, they had met up with Rianne Shield, who, apart from being extremely feisty, was the most loyal friend anyone could have.

Just as Lily had decided to abandon her search and get on with her shopping, a familiar voice caught her ear.

"Hey Prongs! Look who it is!" Lily turned to see Sirius Black and James Potter quickly approaching. She didn't really feel like talking to them at the moment, but as she was trying to think of a quick getaway, James Potter spoke.

"Er… hi Evans," he said quietly. Lily didn't really know what he was playing at. Evans? They had spent a day together recently, and he had used her first name _then_.

"Hello, Potter," she replied coolly. Two could play at this game.

"I'll just leave you two to talk then," Sirius said. "Oy! Shield!"

So Rianne was here. That was good; at least Lily had someone to get all of her supplies with, instead of looking like a complete idiot with out any friends.

"So…" James said, breaking the silence but having no clue as to what to say.

"Have a good rest of the summer?" Lily asked.

"Er, yeah actually. You'll never guess who was sitting on my doorstep when we got home though."

"Bet I will—Sirius."

"Yup. So… er… I heard about your Dad." James paused, surveying Lily's face. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Thanks," Lily said, "That means something, but you're not the one who should be sorry."

Just at that moment, Sirius strutted back to the spot where they were talking. "Rianne's waiting for you back over there, Lily," He said. "Wants to talk about hair, or makeup, or whatever it is you girls talk about when we men aren't around."

"Thanks, Black," she said in a sarcastic tone. He was never going to understand girls. Sirius gave James a meaningful look. James took a deep breath and the tone of his voice was strikingly different from what it had been previously.

"So Evans," he began, stepping closer, and Lily was immediately taken aback. "I suppose since we had such a great time together this summer, you want to reconsider my offer?"

"Excuse me?" Lily said in a menacing voice. She couldn't believe it, she had thought he'd changed.

"Well you want to go out with me, right?" He took an arm and made to wrap it around her waist, but seemed to think better of it, because an instant later he had pulled back a couple of steps.

Lily raised her eyebrows so far one might swear they had disappeared into her hair. Before she knew what she was doing, she had slapped him right across the face and turned on her heel, walking purposefully towards Rianne. Through the crowd, she distinctly heard Sirius yell, "You stupid git!"

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Rianne asked. Lily smiled. Rianne was perhaps the bluntest person she had ever met, and Lily admired her for that.

"Long or short version?" Lily asked.

"Short for now, I'm running a tight schedule," Rianne answered with a smirk.

"He asked me out again," Lily replied with a sort of grimace.

"That's it?" Rianne said disbelievingly. "Okay then, I guess I need the long version, because the Lily Evans I know isn't extremely likely to slap a guy around just because he asked her out, even if it is James Potter."

Lily told Rianne the story of her summer. How she and James had spent a day together without either of them suffering bodily injuries, and how that night her father had been killed. At this Lily began to cry, and Rianne soothed her, before she continued with her story.

"—And now he's back to being a prat again, and I cannot believe I fell for that act. I don't know what came over me. I just… hit him."

"I don't blame you!" Rianne exclaimed. "Listen, my whole family is staying in the Leaky Cauldron until I leave for Hogwarts. Mum says she needs to get away from the office, but I don't know if I believe her, I think she's got some business going on here. Anyway, why don't you stay with us, and we can just relax."

"That would be great," Lily said. "But, I don't have my school stuff; I wasn't planning on staying here."

"You forget, darling," Rianne said in a mock-drawl, "That my Mum works at the Department of Magical Transportation! She can get a portkey to your house like that," she snapped her fingers, "and no one at the office will give it a second thought."

Lily smiled and agreed, telling Rianne that she was meeting her mother at six, and she would ask her then. The pair of them set off to get their school supplies, happily discussing the N.E.W.T. classes each of them would be taking. Rianne immediately plunged into a story about her massive schedule.

"—I really don't know what came over me. I guess I thought studying for those O.W.L.s was a good idea. Boy was I wrong. Those remedial kids are going to have it so easy! I mean, N.E.W.T level Arithmancy?"

"Hey I've got Arithmancy too!" Lily squeezed in.

"Yeah, well you're only taking one more class than I am…" Rianne continued, "Ancient Runes! That's gonna be a killer!"

"I suppose," Lily said. She hadn't really thought of the fact that her schedule was difficult. She was N.E.W.T. level in almost every subject, except Astronomy, which she had dropped because she wasn't really planning on any career that involved stargazing. At least Rianne was in every class with her, besides Care of Magical Creatures, which Caron was sure to have.

Lily thought about Caron. Sure, she was friendly, pretty, and caring, but she struggled in her classes. It was highly unlikely that she would be placed in the N.E.W.T. level classes. The only class that she was really good at, History of Magic, both Lily and Rianne had resolutely dropped at the end of last year, vowing not to take it back up even if they received Outstanding O.W.L.s, voicing that they had better things to do with that hour than pretend to listen to Professor Binns. The only reason they had made it through five years was because they had Caron whispering names and dates in their ears at all hours of the day.

The pair continued shopping for the rest of the day, occasionally resting and summing up their purchases. When they entered Madame Malkin's, Rianne had insisted they look at dress robes.

"Oh! These match your eyes Lily!" Rianne exclaimed, holding up pretty sea foam green ones. Lily smiled and told Rianne that they better buy their school robes and get on with it.

Around five forty-five, the two girls made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where both of their families were waiting. Lily spotted Rosemary and immediately asked her if she could stay with Rianne. Rosemary was hesitant at first, but told her she could stay, as long as she promised to come home for Christmas. Lily hastily agreed. After quite a long goodbye, Lily's mother and sister left, and Rianne brought her mother over to Lily.

"Alright girls," she said. "Technically I am not supposed to do this, so don't make a habit of asking." But she smiled warmly all the same, and whispered "_portus,_" tapping an empty butterbeer bottle with her wand. _This is getting too familiar,_ Lily thought as the portkey jerked her, and she found herself face down in her living room, with quite a disgruntled Rianne on top of her.

"I never much liked that," Rianne said shortly.

It didn't take long for Lily to gather up her school stuff. She placed her purchases in her trunk, along with all her old supplies. Rianne entered her room while she was placing her muggle clothes in the trunk.

"Rather bare, don't you think?" Rianne said in a straightforward tone.

"Yes," Lily agreed. "I tore all my pictures down after… after it happened."

"Oh," Rianne said quietly.

"Done!" Lily said, after quite a few minutes of awkward silence. She had checked, double checked and triple checked, she was quite sure she had everything. The two girls heaved her trunk down the stairs ("Packed a ton of bricks for good measure, have you?" Rianne said,) and saw Mrs. Shield standing there.

"Let's be off then!" She exclaimed. Lily checked her coat pocket one last time for her wand, but found it wasn't the only item there. A small slip of paper had somehow entered her pocket. She had no time to examine it, however, because Rianne's mother was once again holding out the empty bottle.

When they arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron, Lily took her things up to the room in which she would be staying with Rianne, where Rianne quickly excused herself to the loo, claiming to be sick from the portkeys. Lily took out the

_The Marauders offer their condolences to Lily Evans, and wish her all the best in these troubled times._

Lily about ripped the note in half. 'The Marauders' was the name of James Potter's silly group. No doubt they had come across the word in a big book in their third year, and thought it seemed rather impressive. Their formal manner of writing all their notes only added to her annoyance. Their condolences were meaningless to her. As she read this, however, a short sentence appeared in quite different handwriting, though Lily didn't know who it belonged to.

_Mr. Padfoot would like to add that Mr. Prongs is a stupid prat, especially when he is around a certain Miss Evans._

Lily read this in disbelief, but did not have time to ponder, as another note was being scrawled by what seemed an invisible hand as she read.

_Mr. Wormtail would like to register the fact that he quite likes the sound of the name Lily Potter, as it has quite a nice ring to it._

By now Lily was just angry. She looked at the paper again, and saw that yet another note had been added.

_Mr. Moony begs Miss Evans not to mention to Mr. Prongs that this note has been tampered with, as it is quite likely he would curse the rest of the Marauders into next year._

Lily was fuming by the time she had finished reading the note. It didn't help that it was written as though she had been graciously handed a note by the queen. Lily read through the note again. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, those were their nicknames for each other. Lily had no idea where they had gotten them, but they had been using them since halfway through the fourth year. Moony was the only one that made any sense at all, Remus being a werewolf.

Lily smiled. Of all the marauders, she certainly liked Remus the best. He was her fellow prefect, and he never involved himself in the other three's crazy antics. She had found out the year before about him being a werewolf, he told her he didn't really feel up to making excuses why he couldn't patrol the castle with her some times, and thought it was best she just found out now, because she was sure to figure it out on her own if he didn't tell her.

Lily was pulled from her thoughts when Rianne entered through the door, still looking slightly green.

"Just gotten an owl from Caron," she said, laying down on her bed, "She'll be in tomorrow to get her school stuff, and she's going to King's Cross with us the next day to catch the train."

"Great!" Lily exclaimed. She liked Rianne very much, and they got on quite well, but there was some sort of unspoken agreement between the three of them. The fact of the matter was that Lily and Caron seemed to have a much better connection. They didn't exclude Rianne though, and she was quite content to be the other best friend to both of them.

Lily and Rianne stayed up for quite a long time. Rianne was blabbering on about people at Hogwarts. Both her parents working at the ministry, she ran in to quite a few of their classmates often enough, and she was quite happy to reveal all the secrets they told her to Lily. After about a half an hour, she had made her way to the Ravenclaw fifth years.

"Seanna West's got an awful crush on James Potter, I've heard," Rianna surveyed Lily's face, which had flickered slightly into a surprised look, but was now as emotionless as ever. "He'll date her of course; he always dates the girls who fancy him, at least the good-looking ones. It won't last though, the bloke's never going to get over you."

At this, Lily chucked a pillow at Rianne's face. "What are you on about?" she laughed at Rianne. "He doesn't even fancy me. He's just trying to get me because he knows he can't have me."

"Maybe," Rianne replied, "But I doubt it!" She threw the pillow back at lily, who immediately began pounding her with it. After about a half hour, Mrs. Shield poked her head into the room. Rianne hastily stuffed her wand under her covers, she had been about to curse Lily, her underage magic probably wouldn't be detected in such a magical place.

"I know you are having fun girls, but it's time to go to bed," she said, giving Rianne a reproachful look and shutting the door. Lily didn't need telling twice, she changed quickly into her bed things and climbed under her covers. Not long after, she dozed off into quite a deep sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you weren't disappointed! Anyway, I know I introduced quite a few new characters in this chapter, and I want to clarify some names.You are probably all pronouncing them right, I just want to be sure._

_**Rianne** is pronounced like Ryan. It's not Re-Anne._

_**Caron **is pronounced like Karen. I don't think that one is so difficult._

_**Seanna** isn't Shawna, its Shane-a. Kind of like Seamus. I know it seems like this doesn't matter, after all, she was just mentioned in passing, but believe me she'll pop up again. (This spelling can be pronouced either way, I know, so please don't try to tell me I'm wrong)_

_I hope you noticed that practically all the names I use are Celtic. I love celtic names!_


	6. Trouble on the Train

_A/N: The last of the chapters written last December... yes, a long time ago, I know. This is slightly teen-romance-novel-ish, but the rest of the story won't be quite so bad, don't worry!_

* * *

"Wake up sleepy head!"

Lily moaned, someone was shaking her, and a rather annoying voice was calling her name. _I am going to kill Rianne,_ she thought, before groggily opening her eyes.

"Caron!" she exclaimed, immediately sitting up and throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Who did you expect?" she asked smartly, "Father Christmas!"

"Well, maybe!" Lily said, playing along, "Did _you _bring me any presents?"

"Actually, yes," Caron replied, and handed her a letter. "Your mum called mine and asked us to pick it up on our way."

Lily took the letter, thinking about Caron's mother. She was kind and gentle, but she was also a muggle who was quite apprehensive about magic, but that hadn't stopped her from marrying a wizard—Caron's father.

"It's from your _boyfriend,_" Caron said with a smirk. Lily immediately became apprehensive. Carl wasn't exactly her boyfriend, but she knew the letter was from him. He had come to call at least twice a day since Lily's father's death, but Lily's mother always shooed him away. Now she wasn't sure what he had to say. Lily had expected to have time to say good bye, but Rianne had made the offer…

She tore open the letter and began reading it.

_Dear Lily,_

_I missed you the rest of the summer. It was so strange the last time we spoke. I don't know who that James Potter bloke was, or what he was doing with you, but that's all I have had on my mind. I feel so bad about your father. Your mother half-explained to me what happened, but I really didn't understand, I got the idea it was rather more complicated than anyone really wanted to say. When your mother told me you had left for school without so much as a goodbye, I decided to write this letter. I don't really know what was going on with us, but I realize now that it's over. But perhaps you are okay with that. Something was up with that Potter boy though. I am not going to ask, but I really don't like him. Don't hurt yourself._

_Carl_

"What a prat!" Lily said loudly, throwing the letter down on her bed.

"What?" Caron asked, perplexed. She snatched up the letter and began reading it. When she had finished, she turned to Lily, "Maybe I'm being thick, but I just don't see what in this letter caused you to call him a prat. Obviously you guys weren't going to be together…"

"Well," Lily began, positively fuming, "It's not _that_ I care about, it's _that._" She pointed to the paper, and Caron read the sentence out loud.

"'I don't know who that James Potter was, or what he was doing with you…'" She trailed off. "Okay Lily, I'm not getting this… Wait! What were you doing hanging around with James Potter! _We_ didn't even see each other all summer!"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Lily cried and stood up, unable to control herself any longer. "He stopped by the bookshop for Merlin knows what reason and didn't leave! Carl came and thought something was going on, and I just can't believe it!"

Caron smiled warmly, Lily's face was twisted into an expression of absolute rage. "The way I see it," she said, "It's not Carl's breaking up with you that you are so angry about. It's the fact that he implied there might be something going on between you and James."

Lily was about to retort, but thought better of it, knowing Caron was right. "You always know don't you?" she said.

"One of the many perks of being your best friend," Caron replied. "Besides, how long were you expecting it to last with a bleeding muggle?"

"I wasn't really," Lily admitted. "Actually I was planning on breaking it off with him. But still, the nerve of him, right? If he knew Potter, then he'd see…"

Caron just chuckled.

"And what's so funny now?" Lily shot at her.

"Not a thing," Caron said, trying to sound innocent, but failing miserably.

"Right," Lily said disbelievingly.

"Well, don't get mad at me," she glanced at Lily nervously, "I know you try to deny it, but there has to be something going on, there just has to be. Why else would he even mention it? If you were acting the way you normally act around Potter then it wouldn't really have been a problem now would it?"

"Caron, I don't know, I really don't understand it either," Lily paused and sighed. "I'm under a lot of stress right now I guess, I'm sorry for being so cross with you."

Just then, Rianne burst through the door.

"What are you two still doing up here!" she yelled, "Get dressed Lily, we need to go shopping!"

Lily smiled and pulled herself out of bed. Somehow, it seemed to Lily that Rianne had picked that exact moment to step in on them. She had a slight suspicion that Rianne had been standing outside the door waiting for a proper time to interrupt.

After Lily had dressed, the trio went downstairs and ate breakfast, laughing and talking happily. They went into Diagon Alley to shop for Caron's school supplies, Rianne flittering around from student to student, talking like mad. Hours later, the three girls had finished shopping, and they were back in the Leaky Cauldron for dinner, before retiring to the room they were sharing to compare purchases.

"Girls, I want to leave early tomorrow morning," Rianne's mother poked her head in to say. "Be sure you have your trunks all packed."

"Right Mum," Rianne said, and her mother sighed and closed the door.

Hours later, the girls finally decided to retire for the night.

"It's nearly one!" Caron exclaimed. "I am going to look horrid in the morning!"

"Quit your rattling then and go to bed," Lily said. She herself had already changed into her bedclothes and was lying down. Rianne seemed to have only needed the time for her natural clock to kick in; she was snoring happily in her bed as well.

"Oh shut your face," Caron laughed, before happily climbing into bed.

The next morning was rather hectic, seeing as none of the girls had taken Mrs. Shield's advice and packed their trunks. Soon enough, however, they were heading toward King's Cross in a borrowed Ministry car.

"Hurry now!" Rianne's mother exclaimed, checking her watch as they rushed through the train station, each pushing a rather heavy cart. Rianne's owl was making a rather large racket and she was a little on-edge.

"It's ten-fifteen, Mum!" Rianne shot at her. "We've got ages!"

"You may have ages," he mother replied calmly, "but I need to be at a meeting back in Diagon Alley at eleven, so I need you to get settled and on the train as quickly as possible.

"Told you it was about more than relaxing," Rianne muttered to Lily, who inclined her head slightly to show she had heard.

When they had reached the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten, Rianne's mother uttered a quick goodbye, stating that if she went in with them she wouldn't be out until eleven-fifteen. Caron and Rianne pushed their carts toward the barrier, chatting happily. Lily watched as they disappeared, amazed muggles weren't more observant. She followed them through the barrier, not really doing anything, just walking purposefully forward.

When she emerged onto the platform, however, she was greeted with a rather unfamiliar sight. She had always arrived before around ten forty-five, and the platform had been crowded with Hogwarts students and their families. Now, however, it was bare, with no more than thirty people mulling about.

"Well," said Caron, "There's really no point in hanging around here. Let's get a decent compartment then."

Lily agreed, Rianne merely grunted, which the other two believed to be in concurrence. They found a compartment near the center of the train and Rianne immediately opened the window. When the other two looked at her, perplexed, she explained—

"First of all, for air," she said. "It's sweltering in here. Second, I want to know who's coming in, so I can talk to people as they board."

Lily smiled to herself. Typical Rianne. She couldn't really keep herself from gibbering on, even if it was about nothing.

As time passed, more and more Hogwarts students filed on to the platform. Rianne spent more time leaning out the window than actually in the compartment. Lily and Caron laughed at her to begin with, but they soon were leaning out the window as well.

Promptly at eleven, the train started to move.

"Oh, bugger!" Lily yelled, "I've forgotten I had a prefect's meeting!" She hurried off up the train.

"Lily!" a voice called from behind her as she hurried up the train. "Wait up!" Lily turned to see Remus Lupin hurrying toward her. He looked rather pale.

"When was the full moon?" Lily asked him concernedly as they continued to walk towards the prefect's compartments.

"Two days ago," he replied wearily. "It was a really bad one too, you know, away from… school." he trailed off, and Lily had the distinct impression he had let something slip he probably shouldn't have. She didn't question him further, however, because they had reached the compartment.

"Lily! Remus! Hi!" a boy already sitting down called. His name was Devlin Ashby, and he was a year above them, also a Gryffindor.

"Hi Devlin!" Lily said with a smile. He had always been quite nice to her, despite the fact she was a year below.

"Did you hear I made Head Boy?" he asked, talking more to Lily than to Remus.

"Did you?" she replied, "That's great! Who's Head Girl then?"

"Alice Eggleston," he said. "Haven't really talked to her much, though."

"Oh, she's wonderful!" Lily said. She and Alice had become friends in the last year when Lily was made a prefect, she was in Ravenclaw.

"Yeah," said Devlin. "So, how was your summer?"

Lily was about to reply when Alice herself came into the room, and she beckoned Devlin over to talk about 'head business.'

"Duty calls," he said playfully. "Can I get a rain-check on that conversation though?"

"Sure," Lily smiled. It was nice to be talking and flirting with guys again.

As they had been talking, more prefects had filed into the rather large compartment. Lily scanned the compartment for someone to talk to before the meeting started, but she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a rather tall blonde boy, who was a Ravenclaw prefect.

"Hello Keagan!" she said, turning to talk to him. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad at all Lily," he smiled. "Better now, actually."

"Why's that?" Lily asked.

"I've actually been looking for you," he said, but he didn't get a chance to elaborate, because the prefect meeting was called to order.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Devlin began, but Alice nudged him and he said, "I mean, started." Everyone in the compartment laughed. Devlin was very funny and likeable, but he was definitely one to go by the rules.

"I know the sixth and seventh years here probably want to get this done, so we'll make it quick. Prefects have the power to give and take points as well as assign detentions. This is a privilege, and if you do not use your power fairly, it is the duty of the Head Boy and Girl, that would be Devlin and I, to replace you. Everyone is paired up by house and year, and you will be patrolling the castle at least twice a week at night." Alice paused, and allowed Devlin to take over.

"If there aren't any questions, then, the sixth and seventh years can go," he said. "I, however, will need a word with the fifth years."

Lily smiled at him quickly and left the compartment, making her way towards the back of the train. When she had gotten back to her compartment, she could distinctly hear Rianne telling Caron all the gossip she had accumulated over the summer.

"Seanna West!" Caron screamed—Rianne had obviously just told her the news of James's newest admirer. "She's so smart and cute—she lives down the road from me you know—I never would have expected her to fall for him. But she's so pretty, he would date her in a flash."

Lily had typically stayed out of these sorts of conversations. She had never been one for gossip, no matter how 'juicy' it was—as Rianne so eloquently put it. However, at the mention of this, Lily felt the words slip from her mouth.

"Well, he's got to move on to the fifth years hasn't he?" Her tone was rather sharper than she expected, but she continued none the less, "I mean, he's dated practically every girl in our year, and half the seventh years at that."

Rianne looked positively taken aback. She composed herself, though, and was able to reply nonchalantly, "Every girl in our year except the two of us, you mean. And the Slytherins, but who really counts them anyways?"

Caron blushed slightly. She herself had dated James in the fourth year. The only time she and Lily had ever had a fight Lily had come early to transfiguration to find James and Caron snogging in the empty classroom. The two of them had broken up 'mutually'—though rather loudly—in the common room later that night. When Lily had seen this she knew it was probably over her, and went up to their dormitory to find Caron crying. No matter what Caron said, it was obvious the 'mutual' breakup was more James's doing.

Lily was pulled from her musings by Rianne, who continued her speech about the going's on of Hogwarts students.

"Lily herself has got a couple of admirers to be going on with, though," she said, and Lily turned.

"What are you on about?" she asked, trying to sound as though she wasn't really interested. Rianne however detected the curiosity in her voice.

"Well I'm just saying, my sources tell me that more than one boy is looking your way."

"The one boy being James Potter, then?" Caron asked, slightly lost.

"Yes, but I said _more_," Rianne said. "But… I suppose our dear Lily is far too busy to want to know who fancies her."

"Oh, shut up you!" Lily joked. "Tell me who it is, then."

"Keagan Byrne," Rianne said matter-of-factly.

"That Ravenclaw seventh year?" Caron asked, and Rianne nodded. "Oh! He's good looking!"

Lily smiled, "Yes, he's not bad." She suddenly remembered he said he had been looking for her, but she shrugged it off. Obviously it hadn't been too terribly important.

"And he's a prefect," Rianne grinned as though she was thoroughly enjoying this. "That's not all though. Devlin Ashby, I hear he's in the running for Head Boy. I'd be quite surprised if he didn't get it, too."

"He did," Lily cut in, "I saw him at the meeting. And Keagan, too. I talked to both of them."

"Oh," Rianne said with a smug smile. "But we mustn't forget Liam Hogan. Sure, he's a Hufflepuff, so he's undoubtedly a bit daft, but he's quite nice and rather pleasing to the eye. Plus, he's not a prefect, so you wouldn't have to worry about having to work with him if you broke up."

"So all seventh years then?" Lily asked, rather disappointed. They were all nice, good looking, and popular—not to mention quite willing to talk to her—but she didn't really want to date anyone older.

"Well, naturally," answered Caron. The other two looked at her in surprise. "Oh, think about it, James has surely scared off all of the fifth and sixth years, probably half of the seventh years too. Those are the brave ones."

Lily grimaced slightly. That certainly was a rather annoying trait of James Potter. He _was _incredibly talented—all the teachers admitted behind his back that he was probably the most talented student in the school. He knew that though, and he was quite keen to threaten anyone who got in his way. This, of course, meant any boy who fancied Lily was quick to hear from him. Try as she might, Lily just could not convince him she would never go out with him.

Lily shook the thought out of her head. Perhaps this year would be different. After all, these boys were the best of the best; the finest Hogwarts had to offer. Lily, however, was sick of talking about herself though.

"So what about you two then?" she asked, and both of them blushed furiously. "I mean, you are both smart, fun, funny, beautiful—"

"Beautiful my arse!" Rianne exclaimed. But she blushed all the same, because she knew this wasn't true. Her chocolate brown hair fell just past her shoulders, and she was quite tan, even in the dark winter months. Her eyes were bright blue and she had one of the most beautiful faces Lily had ever seen. Lily remembered thinking she was foreign when she came to Hogwarts, because there was something mysterious about her, but she swore her family could be counted back six generations of Irish wizards.

"Oh come off it Rianne!" Caron shouted. "You're up to your ears in admirers, they know you are beautiful!" Her shouts contained a bit of jealousy, but Rianne didn't notice. Lily didn't really understand why, but Caron had always been slightly jealous of Rianne when it came to boys. Caron was stunningly pretty, there was no doubt about that. She had fair skin and pretty hazel eyes, and her hair was a gorgeous tumble of wild black curls, which she knew how to treat just right. Caron, however, just didn't give off the confidence that Rianne did around boys.

"Both of you stop!" Lily shouted. "You are both attractive, so drop the act. Rianne, I know you know who fancies each of you. So, do tell."

Rianne sighed and began.

"Well, actually Caron's got a fair few admirers as well," she said. Caron's ears seemed to perk up, and she straightened her back, as if preparing to take in some rather important information.

"Who, then?" she asked.

"Well," Rianne began, "there's Bevan Weller. He's rather nice, bit short, but, eh, you can't have everything, can you?" Lily chuckled. Caron wasn't exactly tall herself, in all actuality she was one of the shortest girls in the year.

"And..?" Lily urged her.

"Right," Rianne said. "There's that fifth year Hufflepuff, whatsisname, Torrance Bishop? He's sure matured quite nicely. Oh yeah, and Remus Lupin, I hear, but no one really knows about that bloke." Lily and Caron exchanged brief glances. Lily was the only one who knew about Caron's crush on Remus.

"So who fancies you then?" Lily asked. Rianne sighed, knowing she had avoided the inevitable long enough.

"Sirius Black," she said.

"No way!" Caron cried. "How do you know?"

"Told me himself," Rianne answered. "In Diagon Alley two days ago. I wasn't up for much conversation, though."

Lily understood the disappointment in Rianne's voice. Had she been any other girl, she probably would have been positively giddy, but Rianne wasn't much into the popular-guy deal. Because of her quirky and outgoing nature, Rianne was quite often stereotyped as the common 'popular girl,' but she was nothing of the sort. She was a fierce beater on the Gryffindor team for the third year running, and she spent a lot of time in the dormitory alone writing music on her acoustic guitar. The only time she had ever dated was in the fourth year, and he had been a sixth year Ravenclaw.

"Anyone else?" Lily asked, hoping some other prospects might bring more cheer.

"Well, yes," Rianne replied. "There's Iain Faulke and Maddock Goodrich." She let out a sort of smile.

"Oh, well they are both good guys!" Caron said.

"How's Kael then?" Lily asked. She knew that Rianne was still keeping in touch with her former boyfriend.

"Oh, he's fantastic," she replied. "Say's Venice is marvelous."

With that comment, a whole new conversation was sparked. The three girls talked for about an hour about studying abroad. Kael, as Lily remembered, was very artistic. He had moved to Venice to paint as soon as he had gotten out of Hogwarts. After boring of the subject, they decided to start a game of exploding snap, and just as they were about to begin, a rather tall, muscular boy with curly brown hair slid open the compartment door.

"Hello," he said shyly, "Just come to say hi to you girls, it's been awhile. How are you Lily?"

"Hi Liam," she said, and the other two in the compartment giggled, but stopped abruptly at a rather sharp look from Lily. "I'm pretty good, how was your summer?"

"Nothing to complain about," he said, slightly uncomfortable. "My mum's an Auror, though. Heard about your Dad. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks, Liam," Lily said, smiling sadly. "That really means a lot."

"Well, I had better go," Liam said. "See you at Hogwarts." With this, he left the compartment.

"That's three out of four of your admirer's you've had run-ins with Lily," Caron remarked.

"One left," Rianne added. Lily was about to respond, but before she could, she heard a rather loud "Oy!" from outside the compartment. She wrenched the door open, just in time to see James Potter walking purposefully towards Liam.

"What do you think _you're _doing?" James asked indignantly.

"_I_," Liam said, "Am walking down the train, is there a problem with that?"

_Oh no,_ Lily thought to herself. _This is going to be bad._

"Walking down the train, are you?" James continued with a sort of growl. "And what were you doing in that compartment?"

"This is ridiculous!" Liam yelled, "What rational reason do you have for questioning me like this? I was _talking to friends_."

"You and Evans are friends, then?" James shot back, looking at Lily. Liam didn't know she was watching, but James sure did, and he just seemed to get more angry.

"Yeah, we are!" Liam said. Lily could tell he was getting angry, he was holding his wand rather tightly, as if trying to force himself not to use it. James was doing the same.

"Potter, listen," Lily began, finally cutting in. "You need to calm down. Just turn around and walk away. Liam and I are _friends,_ and there is nothing wrong with that."

"Stay out of this, Evans," he said, "This doesn't concern you."

"It very well concerns me!" Lily cried. "You are talking _about me. _I would think that would mean it concerns me!"

"Potter, she doesn't like you, okay?" Liam said, attempting a little harsh reason. "Can't you just get over that and move on with your life?"

"And what makes you think she likes you?" James spat, as if the thought was very unlikely.

"_I _never said she did!" Liam shot back.

"Neither did I!" James shouted. By now there were faces poking out of compartments up and down the train—Rianne herself had crawled around Lily's legs to get a view of the action—but this just seemed to anger Liam even more.

"So why are you acting like she's your property?" Liam asked, and James didn't seem to have a comeback. Perhaps encouraged by this, Liam continued.

"Potter," he said calmly, pulling out his wand. "Someone's got to tell you this, and hopefully my words will penetrate your thick skull. She. Does. Not. Like. You. So get over it, and let her do what she pleases."

Lily saw what was about to happen about a second before it actually did. James pulled out his wand, about to curse Liam, but Lily already had her wand out and was pointing it straight at him.

"Don't even think about it Potter," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "You need to calm down. Go back to your compartment, and _do not _come around this section of the train—or me, for that matter—for any reason. If you curse anyone, it will be forty points from Gryffindor, and a week's worth of detentions with Filch. Now, go."

James just stood there, in shock. Just when Lily was about to go and make him move, Sirius came bounding up the train, apparently searching for all the fun. When he saw what was happening, his face immediately fell.

"I'll just take him, then," he said, grabbing James's arm and pulling him away.

"Yeah, that would be a smart move," Lily said. As the two boys walked away, she saw Sirius smack James upside the head and yell, "You stupid prat!"

"There is nothing to see here!" Lily yelled at the dozen or so faces poking out of compartments. "I'm going to count to five, and if I see one head sticking out of the compartment doors when I am done, the body attached to it is getting a month's detentions!"

Lily didn't really need to count, because as soon as she said that, every head pulled back into its compartment, probably to discuss what they had just seen with the other occupants. Lily sighed and walked back into her compartment, slumping onto the seat.

"That's four, then," she sighed.

* * *

_A/N: Very fun to write, hope it was fun to read. Chapter 7 will be up soon._


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